State Gets $245M For Vaccination Help; Positivity Rate Down

TAMPA, FL — The Federal Emergency Management Agency will give $245 million to the state of Florida to help pay for vaccinating senior citizens.

The award reimburses 100 percent of costs related to the state’s vaccination program for 90 days.

Those costs can include:

• Equipment and supplies needed for storing, handling and distributing vaccines;
• Personal protective equipment for staff and patients;
• Leasing facilities for storing and administering vaccines;
• Additional medical and support staff, including facility infection control measures;
• Emergency medical care;
• Equipment for the safe disposal of medical waste;
• Communications to provide the public with information;

“This funding will help the state distribute and administer COVID-19 vaccinations to more Floridians,” said Gracia Szczech, regional administrator for FEMA Region IV. “We have been working closely with our state partners since the onset of the pandemic, and these dollars will assist with their ongoing efforts.”

Grants for emergency protective measures are funded through FEMA’s Public Assistance program, which reimburses communities for actions taken for response and recovery from a disaster.

For coronavirus, FEMA has streamlined the public assistance application and reimbursement process to get funds to applicants faster so officials can address immediate threats to the public.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state is continuing to develop strategies to increase vaccine access to Florida’s seniors including those who are home bound.

The state is developing a pilot program beginning with 750 Holocaust survivors and spouses in Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Martin counties, who will receive the vaccine this week.

The state is also partnering with churches and other places of worship to offer vaccination clinics.

To date, the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida Department of Health have administered more than 13,000 doses at 51 vaccination sites at churches and synagogues. Click here for a list of places of worships who have participated. All appointments for vaccinations at these locations have been filled and walk-ups will not be accepted.

More than 1,894,209 people have been vaccinated in the state, 72 percent of which are seniors, according to the Department of Health.

Additionally, more than two million people have preregistered through the state’s new coronavirus vaccine appointment preregistration system. So far, 15 counties are using the statewide system including Hillsborough, Citrus, Hardee and Highlands counties.

Residents whose county has chosen to opt out of the state vaccination system can still use the state system and travel to another county that is using the state system to receive their vaccine.

Residents can register with the state system at myvaccine.fl.gov. Their place in line will be reserved through software called Sharecare. Those without access to the internet can call for an appointment by county here.

DeSantis said more than 330 vaccination sites have been opened statewide including at hospitals, Publix grocery stores and community health centers. All vaccine sites in Florida are posted on the Florida Department of Health's website here.

In the meantime, two more pharmaceutical companies are close to releasing coronavirus vaccines.

Johnson & Johnson has requested emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its coronavirus vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration.

And the FDA has scheduled a meeting for Feb. 26 to discuss the request for emergency use authorization from Janssen Biotech Inc.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 59,307,800 vaccines have been distributed around the country and 42,417,617 Americans have been vaccinated.

Florida Coronavirus Update

As of Sunday, 1,783,720 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Florida since the pandemic began, with 74,543 hospitalized and 28,287 deaths.

Health officials will watch closely to see what impact the influx of visitors to Tampa, Super Bowl parties and the big game itself will have on the statewide coronavirus numbers. But, to date, the number of positive tests has gone down.

There were 5,640 positive cases reported Sunday, 6,656 on Saturday, 7,376 on Friday and 10,850 on Thursday.

There was one death reported on Saturday, 12 reported on Friday, 25 on Thursday and 41 on Wednesday.

The state currently has a positivity rate of 7.37 percent, down from a month ago when it was 10.98 percent.

Number Of Positive Cases In Florida

Courtesy Department of Health

Positivity Rate For Florida

Deaths In Florida

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